In multivariate Cox's regression analysis, we found for the subgroups of patients with a high uPA-T/uPAR-S, a high uPAR-T/uPAR-S or a high PAI-1-T/uPAR-S, an ∼6-fold significantly increased risk of tumour-related death (RR=5.9, 95% CI=1.8–19.2, P=0.003; RR=6.2, 95% CI=1.9–20.0, P=0.002; RR=5.8, 95% CI=1.9–17.0, P=0.001, respectively) compared with those patients who showed low values for each marker combination (Table 4, Figure 1). This evidence concerns the gene SERPINE1 and neoplasm.